Downfall
by Nadare
Summary: "Pablo knew where he was now. There were many names for it, but it was Hell. He didn't do more than take a cursory glance at his surroundings, at the dead forest shrouded in a fog before the fight or flight instinct kicked in. Pablo ran." A Missing Scene one-shot set before the season two finale. Written for the Goretober 2018 challenge.


_A/N: I miss this show. It was the perfect mix of camp, horror, and fun. Stupid Starz. Anyway, this story is set before the season two finale. Before Pablo came back to life…_

 _For reference, this story covers the following prompts: Extra Limbs, Oh So Many Eyes, Drowning, Amputation, Playing With Knives, Horns, and Insects. If any of those sound disturbing to you, back away while you have the chance. ^^_

[Written on and off between 10-9-18 to 10-19-18]

* * *

" _ **Downfall"**_

Pablo was surrounded by monsters.

One moment he'd been standing triumphant, lauded by his friends for a job well done after Baal exploded, the next everything went black. As a result of merging with the Necronomicon, Pablo instinctively knew each one of them. What they were capable of, the activities they considered 'fun.' His skin crawled as their numerous gazes stared him down, silently sizing him up.

A realm full of demons and other dark creatures meant Pablo wasn't in Michigan anymore.

Oh, fuck. Pablo knew where he was now. There were many names for it, but it was Hell. He didn't do more than take a cursory glance at his surroundings, at the dead forest shrouded in the fog before the fight or flight instinct kicked in, and knowing he couldn't take on so many at once without some kind of weapon, Pablo ran.

The ground was craggy and uneven, making it hard to find a smooth path. Pablo ducked underneath overgrown branches, his heart threatening to pound out of his chest. Sooner or later, no matter how hard he tried, they would catch him. Still, Pablo refused to give in, he'd put off the inevitable as long as he could.

Spotting an opening in the fog, hoping it led somewhere he could hide and rest for a while, Pablo sprinted harder, grunting when something closed around his ankle and pulled him backward.

He hit the ground hard, slightly dizzy and out of breath as Pablo turned to face his attacker. The demon towered over him, a massive set of white curled horns not unlike a ram's protruding from each side of its forehead. Multiple small slits covered its face and upper body, Pablo not knowing what they were at first until they all opened, revealing hundreds of eyes, every single pupil of which was focused on him. It had a small mouth with a set of fangs hanging over its lower lip, Pablo swearing it smiled at him.

"We hardly ever get visitors down here. So rude of you to run before we could greet you properly." Its voice was low and hissing, somehow slithering against Pablo's ears unpleasantly. He shuddered, kicking and punching as the demon dragged him closer.

Dread fell over him as Pablo finally placed the demon. His voice shook as he sputtered, "Thammuz?" As a master of torture and high up in the demonic hierarchy, just a few rungs underneath Baal, Pablo cursed his bad luck at being caught by him out of all the inhabitants.

Thammuz cocked his head to the side, interest lighting up his many eyes. "Fascinating," he said, pulling Pablo high up by the ankle, his shirt falling down over his face, unable to see beyond it. He jumped as something wet ran down his stomach to the middle of his chest, realizing it was Thammuz's tongue when the demon lowered him back down to the ground. The sight of his long thin forked tongue shifting through the air did nothing to make Pablo feel better about the situation.

"The Sumerian etched into the fabric of your body…I've never met a human touched so intimately by the Necronomicon. It makes me wants to see how much it's changed you." Thammuz's grip tightened on Pablo's ankle as he began to laugh darkly, starting to walk towards the left, dragging Pablo behind him. "Let's get to know each other better, shall we?"

The hand holding his neck shoved him down, Pablo bracing both arms against the ground, struggling to keep his face from a large pool of water. The smell rising from it was caustic, burning Pablo's nostrils, adding to his motivation to keep away from it.

White-hot pain blazed across his mind, Pablo abruptly losing half his strength, terror seizing him as he glanced to his side. His left arm was completely gone, ripped away, only small chunks of flesh and bone remaining. Thammuz's long claws were dripping with blood, an ugly vicious grin pasted over his mouth. Pablo started shivering in a combination of pain and fear that Thammuz would take his other arm out of spite.

"Now behave," Thammuz threatened, renewing his attack. Despite his best efforts to resist, Thammuz's strength overrode Pablo's own, realizing as he got closer to the pool that it wasn't water at all, but thousands of bugs in thick black muck. Cockroaches, ants, beetles, earwigs, every size and variety of creepy-crawly in existence, the buzz of frenzied wings nearly deafening Pablo.

Before he could make a sound of protest, his face met the surface of the insect horde and Pablo struggled to keep his mouth and eyes closed, his skin breaking out in goosebumps at the sensation of thousands of tiny feet crawling over him. Thammuz kept pushing, Pablo aghast as the insect-infested water rose to his neck, quickly spreading to his shoulders and back.

He'd barely managed to get a breath in the rising panic of his situation, and his body started to jerk, spasms racing down his remaining arm and legs. When Pablo's vision went spotty, desperate for air, he gasped and instantly gagged at the taste of the liquid coating him, an intensely bitter salty concoction that added to the horror Pablo felt as the insects, seeing an opening, began crawling into his mouth and down his throat.

Pablo choked, tasting bile along with everything else, squirming as some of the bugs became trapped in his airway. Just as he was starting to black out, Thammuz jerked him back, dumping Pablo a few feet away on the ground, low rumbling laughter dropping from his mouth.

Ejecting everything from his system was automatic, Pablo weak and trembling once he had gotten it all out. Every last stinking bug who'd dared to invade. The thick water dripped off his chin, the world going blurry at the edges before he fell forward and-

Started awake, Pablo jolted upright in his seat. Disoriented, using his free hand, Pablo frantically brushed at his face and clothes, unable to shake the vile feeling that came over him. Vague memories of obscenely large insects shoving themselves against his tongue and a faint buzzing noise still haunted Pablo, but there were no insects anywhere on him.

"What's wrong, Pablo?" He blinked, surprised to find himself holding an ice cold glass of beer. Ash was sitting next to him on a stool, the bright lights of the noisy dive bar they inhabited nearly searing Pablo's eyes. Loud classic rock played from an old jukebox in the far corner, the hum of various conversations surrounding them.

A nightmare? It had felt far too real to be a bad dream.

Pablo frowned as his brow knitted, glancing at Ash. "When did we get here?"

"You don't remember?"

"I don't even know where we are. I…thought I was being tortured."

"You're not catching anything, are you?" Ash asked, leaning slightly away from Pablo. Subtlety wasn't exactly in his wheelhouse at the best of times, even less when he was under the influence. That was one of the things Pablo liked about Ash. He was a terrible liar, but you always knew where you stood with him. For better or worse.

Pablo shook his head, caught off guard when Ash said, "I would never let that happen, you know."

"What?" Patting his shoulder, Ash shot Pablo an ever-confident smile, one he was used to seeing before Ash charged headlong into danger. Pablo never understood how Ash could do it so easily. Experience was one thing, but people severely underestimated the man's bravery.

"No one tortures my little buddy and gets away with it. I'd raise hell and high water to rescue you if they did. Take them apart like that," Ash said, letting go of his drink for a second to snap his fingers.

Pablo had to smile. It was just like Ash to assume he could take on anything, be it human, demon, or deadite. Raising his glass, Pablo clanked it against the side of Ash's and took a long pull from it. It was cold and refreshing. "I believe you, Jefe."

He must have fallen asleep at the bar for a split second earlier. Pablo would finish his beer, then turn in because he clearly needed the res-

"All done with your little nap?" The hissing voice was loud, something wet touching the edge of Pablo's ear, moving further into it and nearing his eardrum before Pablo jerked away, the bar fading around him, his eyes locked onto Ash's figure until he too scattered like so much smoke.

The demon loomed over him, too close for his liking. There was an undeserved intimacy on his part that made Pablo uncomfortable. He realized its prodding tongue had been what had woken him up. Pablo broke out into a cold sweat as he recognized the dark smoky landscape again.

"No." He'd been dreaming and this, this was the cruel reality. Baal had killed him, and Thammuz was more than happy to fill Pablo's free time. "Please, no." The left arm Thammuz had ripped away was gone, still raw and bleeding freely. Pablo hadn't imagined that.

"Oh, yes," Thammuz said, raising a set of claws towards him. Then another and another, unfolding from the back and sides of Thammuz's body like wings. The limbs clutched Pablo's body tightly, pulling at his clothes as he was lifted up in the air, like some bizarre seduction. "I thought perhaps we'd play with knives this time. Start small and work our way up."

Thammuz brought his face towards Pablo's, a line of saliva dripping from one of his fangs. "What do you think?"

Pablo closed his eyes, biting into his lower lip, his breath going unsteady. Time moved slowly here, the seconds like hours. He'd survived one session of torture, surely he could take another. Steeling himself, Pablo opened his eyes and spit right into one of Thammuz's many eyes. "Fuck you."

Thammuz screeched and reared back, wiping at his eye with the back of an arm. "You'll pay for that."

Pablo didn't doubt he would. Even if it had been his own mind trying to reassure him rescue was coming, Pablo had to believe in his friends. They wouldn't abandon him down here if they could help it. Pablo just had to wait it out.

After all, Ash hadn't let him down yet.


End file.
